Major League: Better than ever
by Druid Sorceress
Summary: Rachel Phelps is at it again. She wants the team to move more than ever! Will the Cleveland Indians survive? Also, there's a new player in town and she's ready to turn the club upside down!
1. The New Recruit

It was that time of year again…

**DISCLAIMER:**** I don't own anything in this story, just a big fan of Major League!**

It was that time of year again…

It was time to begin a new season of baseball and Rachel Phelps was itching to have this year be the one where she could move the Cleveland Indians franchise to Miami. The evil witch was always scheming to screw the team over and this year she would go too far.

The calls for training camp came and went…now it was time to begin training camp. The usual guys, Jake Taylor, Rick Vaughn, Roger Dorn, Pedro Cerrano and Willy Hayes returned to defend their pennant title. There were also new faces, especially an unusual one, considering major league baseball was male dominated.

"Hey guys" Jake Taylor greeted his friends as he entered the bunk room with his bags "Long time no see"

"Hey Jake" Rick Vaughn greeted him, clapping the older man on the back "How's it going?"

"You have to get a load of the new guy" Dorn said, snickering at the slightly shorter player standing in front of the group "Must be the new SHORTstop"

The player in question turned around to glare at the group. Dorn shut his mouth as they all got a good look at the new recruit. It was a woman!

"Perfect timing as always, Dorn" Jake said, rolling his blue eyes "Must you make fun of every rookie that plays with us?"

"Yeah, man!" Hayes said, smacking Dorn upside the head "Give the lady a little respect"

The younger woman turned away, unpacking her equipment. She had a small assortment of bats and a pitcher's glove…not to mention catcher's equipment.

"Get a load of her equipment" Vaughn exclaimed, watching her take a few test swings with her bat "Looks like it's been used well"

"Pretty lady has nice bats" Cerrano said, joining the group "She play very much"

"Hey, what luck!" Hayes said, clapping Jake on the back "Your bed is right next to hers…She's all yours, man!"

"Gee thanks" Jake said sarcastically as he headed to his bunk.

He lugged his bags to the bed and put them on the bottom. He shot a few glances towards the girl, who was engrossed in making sure she had all her equipment. Studying the frown on her face, he decided to go and introduce himself.

"Hi, kid" he said, moving to stand next to her "Jake Taylor"

"I know" she said, her eyes still on her equipment.

"Umm do you have a name or will you settle for shortstop?" he asked jovially, trying to get the serious girl to crack a smile.

No such luck.

"Lita Phelps" was her cool reply as she turned her back to open her duffel bag.

'Christ' Jake thought, studying the girl 'Talk about frosty…kinda reminiscent of Rachel Phelps…wonder if they're related'

"I see you play Catcher as well" Jake said, trying to start a conversation with her "Is that your main position?"

"Sure, why not?" she said bitterly, avoiding his eyes "In case you're wondering, I AM related to Rachel Phelps…but not by blood. If that's what you're driving at, you can leave me alone now"

Stunned, Jake backed away, wondering what in the world caused the young girl to be so bitter towards people.

'Holy shit' he thought, walking back to his bunk 'Why is she so bitter? I was just trying to be friendly…sheesh!"

"I was right" Dorn said, clapping Jake on the back "She's a total Ice Princess! Sorry you struck out, pal"

"I heard that" Jake heard Lita exclaim as she walked up to them angrily.

"Oooh cool it honey" Dorn said, smiling at her appreciatively "Let us men talk"

"I think you better learn some respect" Lita said, standing up to the taller man "Now we can do this the easy way, or the painful way"

"Like I'm afraid of a little waif like you" Dorn said sarcastically, folding his arms across his chest "You couldn't hurt a fly if it landed on your bat"

Lita smirked suddenly, studying the look on Dorn's face before punching him hard in the face. Dorn was so surprised at the force of her punch that he was knocked to the ground.

"Wow" Jake murmured, his eyes wide "Nobody has ever hit Dorn like that"

"Well then maybe everyone should start" Lita said, avoiding his eyes as Dorn slowly got up, nursing a split lip "He shouldn't be disrespectful to rookies, especially me"

"This isn't over, bitch" Dorn said sullenly, fingering his swollen lip "I'm going to make your life a living hell"

"Bring it on" Lita said coolly, smirking as she turned her back on him and walked away.


	2. Revelations

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing

**DISCLAIMER:**** I own nothing. Enjoy the story!**

An hour after the incident between Lita and Dorn, everyone steered clear of the new recruit. As the first practice started, the amazon kept to herself.

"I can't believe it" Vaughn said, chuckling at what Jake had told the group "She's a bit like me"

"Easy, Vaughn" Hayes said, also laughing "She's a firecracker. Best to stay away from her, especially if her blood is up"

"Well, it's easy for me" Vaughn replied, smirking "I don't have to hang around her today. Jake does because Coach wants to see her catching skills"

"Jake is in trouble then" Cerrano said, shaking his head "He might get in shit with pretty lady"

"I think he needs this" Vaughn said, becoming serious "I mean, after what happened with Lynne and all…"

He trailed off as the other two players became serious…

_Jake and Lynne had just gotten married in Mexico and were celebrating their honeymoon at a resort when tragedy struck._

_Lynne, who loved to scuba dive, went alone in the ocean, leaving Jake to sleep in. There had been warnings of sharks in the area earlier on that morning, but she felt she was experienced enough to handle things on her own._

_Jake received a phone call from the front desk, a couple hours later, to hear that there had been a severe shark attack and that Lynne was critically injured._

_The forces of hell couldn't stop him as he ran to the beach, where Lynne's unconscious body was lying on a stretcher. As soon as he saw her, and the extent of her injuries, he fell to his knees, sobbing uncontrollably._

_She died later in hospital that night due to shock at the amount of blood she lost. In just a few nights, she was gone…he was widowed…_

"He still blames himself" Hayes said solemnly, shaking his head "It's not like he could have actively prevented the shark attack"

"I know" Vaughn said, as Jake came out of the bullpen and jogged towards where Lita was waiting. "But something tells me that Jake's sadness may be over"…

… "Alright, kid" Lou Brown said, sitting leisurely in a chair "If you have your heart set on being catcher, I think you should hang around more with Jake. He'll give you pointers for sure."

The young woman stood there in full catcher equipment, mulling over what he just said.

"I guess you're right" Lita sighed, forcing a smile to her lips "I'm going to do whatever it takes to make my father proud…even if he's not in the flesh anymore"

"I know playing here would be hard on you" Lou said sympathetically "But you have to do your best to be a team player…and that doesn't mean fistfights"

"Yes sir" Lita said quietly, nodding "I will do my best"

"Good" Lou said, waving Jake over "Now show me what you've got"

Lita put the mask on and went in position just as Jake approached Lou.

"Ready for me?" Jake asked as he stood next to Lou

"Hold on a minute, Jake" Lou said, stretching "I want to talk to you first. As you probably already know, Lita is related to our franchise owner."

"Yeah" Jake replied, his eyes on the girl "She mentioned it in passing. I take it that she's Rachel's stepdaughter"

"Yes" Lou agreed, nodding "She's the youngest daughter of our late owner. I'm sure you can tell she hates Rachel's guts. Anyways, I want you to take her under your wing. She's between a rock and a hard place and needs to develop her talent. I'm figuring that you're the most qualified to help her"

"Yeah, Lou" Jake agreed sarcastically "I suppose she needs guidance. Hopefully we can melt the ice in her heart too while we're at it"

"Easy Jake" Lou warned, narrowing his eyes "I understand you're still dealing with Lynne's death but Lita is still dealing with the loss of her father. Take it easy on her, will ya?"

Jake looked back and forth from Lou to Lita. He then sighed.

"I'll give it a shot, Lou" Jake said, watching the girl throw the ball effortlessly to second base.

Jake wordlessly walked up to Lita, preparing for one of her icy remarks.

"Hi Lita" he said slowly "Since you're new here and Lou wants you to play with our franchise this year, I'm going to give you a few pointers. If you have any questions or concerns, I'm there. Think of me as your mentor"

Lita stood up from her crouching position and coolly stared at the older man.

'Whoa' Jake thought, as she lifted the mask 'I never realized how deep her eyes are'

"Thank you, Jake" she said, giving him a small smile "I'm sorry I was rude earlier. I'm just sick of people making cracks about me because of HER"

"Don't worry about it, kid" Jake said, smiling back and patting her on the shoulder "Now, show me what you've got"…


End file.
